Portable self-aligning wall forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

A portable self-aligning wall form connected in modular sections and provided for the casting in place of continuous monolithic type walls of a uniform height and width.

United States Patent [191 Bunger Feb. 5, 1974 PORTABLE SELF-ALIGNING WALL [56] References Cited FORMING APPARATUS UNITED STATES PATENTS [76] Inventor: Richard E. Bunger, 5202 E. 3,659,977 5/1972 Haws 425/63 X Washington St Pho nix, Ariz 3,488,028 1/1970 Verburgh 249/33 X 85034 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser [22] led: 1972 7 Assistant Examiner-DeWalden W. Jones 2 APPL N 234 245 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Warren F. B. Lindsley v 57 ABSTRACT [52] Cl 249,33 A portable self-aligning wall form connected in modu- [51] Int Cl Bzsb 7/02 lar sections and provided fo'r the casting in place of [58] Fie'ld 3 4 188 continuous monolithic type walls of a uniform height and width. I

t 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PORTABLE SELF-ALIGNING WALL FORMING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming continuous concrete walls and particularly to a portable form for casting in place of a pair of parallelly arranged concrete walls'of uniform height and width and of any predetermined length.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to forming in place a pair of permanent concrete walls formed in sections and being of uniform width and height, either at ground level or in subterranean trenches and wherein the walls may be of an indeterminate length either substantially vertically arranged to the ground or at an acute angle thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR. ART

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention claimed, a new and improved method and apparatus for casting in place a series of interconnected concrete sections to form a pair of parellelly arranged similar wall sections is provided which eliminates the need for hand constructed and repeatedly repositioned wall forms.

- Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a portable, reusable form for casting continuous concrete walls of a monolithic nature.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for simultaneously assembling forms for a pair of parallelly arranged wall sections of any predetermined length.

A further object of thisv invention is to provide a selfportable apparatus which may continuously form the forms for use in casting in place interconnected wall sections for forming a continuous concrete wall of a predetermined length.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved monolithic type wall casting form of a selfaligning nature.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved form for assembling in place platens which provide the form for casting continuous walls of variable thicknesses. i

A still further object of this invention is to provide a concrete wall form movable to'sequentially form one or a pair of parallelly arranged continuous walls wherein the forms are of a self-stripping nature.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved continuous wall forming apparatus for easting in place monolithic type walls either at ground level, on an elevated plane, or in a subterranean ditch or trench. a I

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention may be readily described by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an animal housing pen with portions of a slat flooring broken away for clarity to more clearly show continuous monolithically cast walls supporting such pen structure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portable self-aligning wall forming apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the self-aligning wall forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 taken along the line 33;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial end view of the selfaligning wall forming apparatus shown in casting position in a subterranean trench;

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the self-aligning wall forming apparatusshown in FIG. 3 taken along line FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the self-aligning wall forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 2-5 with portions of the wall form broken'away for illustrating the internal structure; and

FIG. 7 is a partial sideelevational view of the portable self-aligning wall forming apparatus with portions broken away to illustrate the internal components for moving the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawing by characters of reference, FIG. 1 discloses a cattle feeding pen 8 and associated waste removal trenches 9 formed according to the disclosed method and apparatus of this invention. A cattle feeding pen of a continuous, monolithic type construction is used to illustrate one configuration which may readily be formed by the portable self-aligning wall forming apparatus disclosed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the trenches 9 are lined by a pair of spaced apart vertically arranged walls 10 and 10 which support floor panels 12 and 12 in a slat or gratelike configuration on their upper surfaces 16, 16. It

will be obvious from the example of the relationship of walls 10 and 10 to slats 12 and 12 thatthe uniform height, wall thickness and relative placement of walls 10 and 10 are vital to this particular type of construction and further that the walls 10 and 10 must run perfectly parallel to one another in order that the slat or grate flooring panels 12 and 12, which are of uniform width, will be squarely and adequately supported atop the walls 10 and 10.

Although a cattle feeding pen has been used to illustrate a type of continuous or monolithic construction generic to the efficient application of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited solely to the production of cattle feeding pens or the supporting walls thereof, but may be applied to any concrete work requiring one or more walls formed in interconnected longitudinally arranged sections.

being substantially supported by a common frame or superstructure of the wall forming apparatus comprising first and second pairs of interconnected members 30A, 30A and 30B, 30B extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of apparatus 24, as explained hereinafter. The first pair of members 30A, 30A is at one level above a given surface on which the apparatus is to work, and the second pair 30B, 30B is at a second, higher level above this surface. The wall forming panels 26 and 28 may be considered as platens movable to and from predetermined positions during a wall forming operation.

It will be seen that the inner wall forming panels 26 are supported on hinge structures 32 attached at points 34 to members 30A and 30A of the superstructure 30 and at points 36 to the wall forming panels 26 and that the outer wall forming panels 28 are supported by adjustable collars 38 slidably mounted on and interlocked by suitable means such as set screws 39 to suitable members such as l-beams or cylindrical rods 40 forming a part of members 30B, 30B extending laterally across and forming a part of the superstructure 30.

7 As noted from FIGS. 2 and 3, the cylindrical rods 40 are provided with vertically arranged cylindrical rods 41 which slidably fit into collars 43 on the superstructure for supporting the rods on the superstructure in a detachable manner.

As shown in FIG. 2, the portable self-aligning wall forming apparatus 24: is provided with an elevating means 42 for moving the wall forming panels 26 and 28 relative to each other and the superstructure 30. This elevating means comprises a hydraulic or pneumatic means 44, or any other telescoping device such as a screw jack or the like attached to superstructure 30 at points 46 and to an axle or wheel supporting structure 48 at a point 50. It will beseen that the wheel supporting structure 48 is provided 'with a pair of wheels 52 which, when in their downwardly extended position, provide for mobility of the self-aligning wall forming apparatus 24.-

Although but one modular section of the portable self-aligning wall forming apparatus 24 is shown, a plurality of such devices may be interconnected at the extremities of the wall panel forms 26 and 28 as indicated in dash lines 24 in FIG. 2..To facilitate the connecting together of a number of wall forming apparatus 24, each apparatus is provided with a suitable towing pole 27 fastened to frame 30, which has a tongue 29 pivotally attached at 31 to a pair of arms 31a and 31b fastened to frame 30 as shown for movement vertically to aid in pulling the apparatus upwardly out of a trench. If so desired, the tongue may be ofa telescoping nature anchored at various lengths-to form a sturdy structure.

The back of the frame is provided with a trailer hitch 33 of a suitable nature which permits vertical moveapparatus may be used to sequentially form a continuous wall of a predetermined length.

Additional features of the portable wall forming apparatus 24 may be seen in FIG. 3 of the drawings, wherein, as hereinafter described, the superstructure 30 of the present invention is provided with horizontally extending cylindrical members 40, supported at their outer ends by slide collars 38. Slide collars 38 are each provided with downwardly extending support means 54 and are connected to outer wall forming panels 28 by a parallelogram type linkage comprising upper and lower links 56 and 58, respectively.

As hereinbefore described, inner wall forming panels 26 are mounted on superstructure 30 by hinge structures 32. Hinge structures 32 are each pivotally mounted at their inner ends at points 34 to superstructure 30 and at the outer ends to points 36 through a pair of links 60 and 62 to wall forming panels 26 forming a parallelogram linkage arrangement as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Links 60 and 62 are each connected at their inner extremity to a hinge plate 64. Hinge plate 64 is pivotally mounted to support means 32 at point 36 by a hinge or draw pin 66. Additionally it will be seen in FIG. 3 that hinge structure 32 is pivotally mounted at its inner end 34 to the superstructure 30 by a hinge or draw pin 68.

l-linge pins 66 and 68 in addition to acting as a pivotal means for the support structure 32 aligning the inner wall fonning panel 26 in a lateral disposition from the longitudinal axis of the superstructure 30 are also provided for acting as a means for removal from the basic superstructure 30 of the inner wall forming panels 26 when transporting the wall forming assembly 24 from job site to job site.

As seen in FIG. 3, the elevating means 42 is in its upward or retracted position, thereby allowing the panels 26 and 28 to come to rest on the casting surface, generally a precast floor but not limited thereto,- as seen in FIG. 4. The portable 'wall forming apparatus 24 as shown in FIG. 4 has been placed in an excavation A upon a precast slab l4 and has been positioned to outline a form for forming a pair of walls 10, only one of which is shown in the excavation.

It will be noted from FIG. 4 that when the superstructure 30, carried on its elevating means 42, is in its upward or mobile position, that the wall forming panels 26 and 28 are spaced at a substantially greater distance, identified by dimension B, than during the casting phase, identified by dimension C, when the superstructure has been lowered into position for casting as seen in solid lines in FIG. 4. The obvious advantages of the parallelogram linkage mounting systems of the wall forming panels 26 and 28 can be seen in FIG. 4, in that with the hinge pins 70 and 72 of links 56 and 58, and hinge pins 74 and 76 of links 60 and 62, maintained in a substantially horizontalposition, the wall forming panels 26 and 28 are maintained in a rigid stationary locked position on the precast floor during pouring and curing stages of the casting operation.

At the time that a proper cure has been achieved on the wall 10, the elevating mechanism 42 of the superstructure 30 is forced downwardly, thereby elevating the superstructure 30, and the wall panels 26 and 28 are pulled with equal force up and away from the wall surfaces 78. This action strips the molds automatically from the wall surfaces 78 while simultaneously providing a cleaning action on the surfaces of the panels 26 and 28, thereby allowing repetitive casting with less maintenance.

Additionally, it will be seen in FIG. 4 that the support means 54 carrying parallelogram linkage 56 and 58 attached to outer wall forming panel 28 are all carried on slide collars 38 slidably mounted on cylindrical members 40 of the superstructure 30. These collars may be adjustably mounted along the horizontal axis of the cylindrical members 40 in an inward or outward direction prior to wall casting, thereby making it possible to cast walls of varying widths. This is possible because slide collars 38 are fixed to cylindrical members 40 by set screws 39 and may be solidly locked on the cylindrical members 40 of the superstructure 30 during casting operations.

As seen in FIG. 5 of the drawing, the inner wall forming panels 26 are also adjustable as to wall width during casting by virtue of the hinge structures 32 being attached to the wall panel 26 at points 36. These hinge structures 32 create parallelogram linkages, allowing panels 26 to be drawn closer to the central axis of the wall forming apparatus 24 during casting. Further, it will be seen that the adjustable inner wall panels 26 moving on their parallelogram linkages also facilitates the transport from job site to job site of the entire forming apparatus 24. Additionally, when long continuous sections of wall are cast, it is efficient and economical at times to cure and strip the molds from a given section of cast wall and then move the forming apparatus to the end of the wall to form another wall section longitudinally with and interconnected to the first wall section. By swinging thepanels closer to the central axis of the machine when in their wall forming position, the forming apparatus is able to navigate down between the newly formed pair of walls and be guided thereby and repositioned for further casting along the ends of the walls.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and'7 of the drawings, the above described elevating means 42 is shown as being provided with a hydraulic means 44 which, when actuated, extends the wheel supporting structure 48 in the downward attitude about the pivot point 82.0f the wheel supporting structure 48, and thereby elevates the wall forming apparatus 24 to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 7.

Although each modular section of the adjustable wall forming apparatus 24 is provided with one pair of wheels 52 mounted on one axis on one wheel carrying frame 48, it isintended that a number of wall forming apparatus 24 may be connected together to form a machine comprising a plurality of modular units, thereby creating a rigid and stable mobile device. This assembly of a plurality of wall forming apparatus 24 may be then rolled along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of one wall forming apparatus 24 on a plurality of pairs of wheels 52, onepair being mounted in each modular wall forming apparatus 24.

In order to vary the distance between inner wall panels 26, the hinge structures 32 attached to points 34 and 36 of the apparatus on each side of the wheel structure may be replaced by panels of shorter lengths than the hinge structures 32. Additionally, this feature makes it possible to reduce the width of the apparatus to eight feet for purposes of towing it on a highway. It

should be recognized that collars 38 permit the outer panels 28 to be moved inwardly along cylindrical rods 40 to reduce the over-all width of the apparatus, as so desired.

Since the wall forming apparatus 24 is expandable vertically without affecting the functioning of its parts, walls of varying height may be readily produced.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wheel mounted wall forming'apparatus comprising in combination:

a frame having a longitudinal axis,

said frame comprising first and second pairs of interconnected members extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of said apparatus, said first pair being at one level above a given surface and said second pair being at a second higher level above said surface,

an axle,

a pair of wheels mounted on said axle,

said axle being arranged laterally of the longitudinal axis of said frame,

elevating means mounted to extend between said axle and one of said members of said frame,

a first platen movably mounted on common ends of said first pair of members to extend longitudinally of said apparatus,

a second platen movably mounted on ends of said second pair of members common to said common ends of said first pair of members and arranged to extend longitudinally of said apparatus a given distance from said first platen,

said elevating means when actuated moving said first and second pairs of members a given distance, thereby causing said first and second platens to move away from each other.

2. The wheel mounted wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second platens are pivotally connected to said first and second pairs of members by linkage means forming a parallelogram.

3. The wheel mounted wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said elevating means when actuated moves said firstand second pairs of members vertically a given distance, thereby causing said first and second platens to move away from each other.

4. A wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus comprising in combination:

a frame having a longitudinal axis,

said frame comprising first and second pairs of interconnected members extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of said apparatus, said first pair being at one level above a given surface and said second pair being at a secondlevel above said surface,

an axle,

a pair of wheels mounted on said axle,

said axle being arranged within said frame laterally of the longitudinal axis of said frame,

elevating means mounted to extend between said axle and said frame,

a first pair of platens movably mounted one across each of the common ends of said first pair of members to extend substantially longitudinally of said apparatus,

a second pair of platens movably mounted one across each of the common ends of said second pair of members to extend longitudinally of said apparatus, each one of said second pair of platens being spaced a first distance from a different one of said first pair of platens,

said elevating means when actuated moving each of said first and second pairs of members a given distance, thereby causing said first and second pairs of platens to move away from each other.

5. The wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 4 wherein:

each platen of said first and second pairs of platens are connected to the associated members by a linkage means.

6. The wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said linkage means comprises a parallelogram, said parallelogram comprising a pair of spaced links each pivotally interconnecting the associated member to the associated platen.

said cylinder being pivotally connected to one of said members,

said fluid motor when actuated raising said first and second pairs of members to cause said platens to move away from and upwardly of their positions assumed in motor deactivated condition.

* t I I 1R 

1. A wheel mounted wall forming apparatus comprising in combination: a frame having a longitudinal axis, said frame comprising first and second pairs of interconnected members extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of said apparatus, said first pair being at one level above a given surface and said second pair being at a second higher level above said surface, an axle, a pair of wheels mounted on said axle, said axle being arranged laterally of the longitudinal axis of said frame, elevating means mounted to extend between said axle and one of said members of said frame, a first platen movably mounted on common ends of said first pair of members to extend longitudinally of said apparatus, a second platen movably mounted on ends of said second pair of members common to said common ends of said first pair of members and arranged to extend longitudinally of said apparatus a given distance from said first platen, said elevating means when actuated moving said first and second pairs of members a given distance, thereby causing said first and second platens to move away from each other.
 2. The wheel mounted wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second platens are pivotally connected to said first and second pairs of members by linkage means forming a parallelogram.
 3. The wheel mounted wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said elevating means when actuated moves said first and second pairs of members vertically a given distance, thereby causing said first and second platens to move away from each other.
 4. A wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus comprising in combination: a frame having a longitudinal axis, said frame comprising first and second pairs of interconnected members extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of said apparatus, said first pair being at one level above a given surface and said second pair being at a second level above said surface, an axle, a pair of wheels mounted on said axle, said axle being arranged within said frame laterally of the longitudinal axis of said frame, elevating means mounted to extend between said axle and said frame, a first pair of platens movably mounted one across each of the common ends of said first pair of members to extend substantially longitudinally of said apparatus, a second pair of platens movably mounted one across each of the common ends of said second pair of members to extend longitudinally of said apparatus, each one of said second pair of platens being spaced a first distance from a different one of said first pair of platens, said elevating means when actuated moving each of said first and second pairs of members a given distance, thereby causing said first and second pairs of platens to move away from each other.
 5. The wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 4 wherein: each platen of said first and second pairs of platens are connected to the associated members by a linkage means.
 6. The wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said linkage means comprises a parallelogram, said parallelogram comprising a pair of spaced links each pivotally interconnecting the associated member to the associated platen.
 7. The wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 4 wherein each platen of said first and second pairs of platens comprises a wall of a form for holding pliable concrete until it sets, said elevating means when actuated stripping each wall of the form from the set concrete.
 8. The wheel mounted concrete wall forming apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein: said elevating means comprises a fluid actuated motor, said motor comprising a cylinder, piston and piston rod, said piston rod being pivotally connected to said axle, said cylinder being pivotally connected to one of said members, said fluid motor when actuated raising said first and second pairs of members to cause said platens to move away from and upwardly of their positions assumed in motor deactivated condition. 